Carcassonne
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Carcassonne is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, region of Occitania. It is the prefecture of the department.
Aerial photograph of the Cité de Carcassonne
Miniature depicting Cathars being expelled from Carcassonne in 1209
Expansion of the Frankish Empire: Blue = realm of Pepin the Short in 758; Orange = expansion under Charlemagne until 814; Yellow = Marches and dependencies; Red = Papal States.
Hôtel de Rolland
Catharism
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Catharism was a Christian quasi-dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement in northern Italy and southern France between the 12th and 14th centuries.
Carcassonne
…foundation stones of the new cathedral. Carcassonne became famous for its role in the Albigensian Crusades when the city was a stronghold of Occitan Cathars. In August 1209 the crusading army of the Papal Legate, abbot Arnaud Amalric, besieged the city. Viscount Raymond-Roger de Trencavel was imprisoned…
St. Paul, by Valentin de Boulogne.
The Fall of the Rebel Angels by Hieronymus Bosch
Painting by Pedro Berruguete portraying the story of a disputation between Saint Dominic and the Cathars (Albigensians), in which the books of both were thrown on a fire and Dominic's books were miraculously preserved from the flames.